USPTO's Upcoming Changes to the Accelerated Examination Program

On June 10, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a final rule that will discontinue the Accelerated Examination program for utility applications, beginning July 10, 2025. The final rule also modifies the rules of practice to clarify the grounds for which a petition to make special may be granted and when a fee is required for such a petition. Currently, Applicants have several ways to expedite examination of their patent applications. For example, an Applicant can expedite examination of utility patent applications by either petitioning to make their application special through the Accelerated Examination program or by applying through the Prioritized Patent Examination Program (“Track One” program).

Before July 10, 2025

Until July 10, 2025, Applicants filing a petition under the Accelerated Examination program must satisfy one of the two categories as defined by 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(c). Under 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(c)(1), a petition may be sought based on the Applicant’s age or health, which requires appropriate supporting evidence. For petitions to make special based on an inventor’s health, evidence such as a doctor’s certificate or other medical certificate must be supplied (MPEP § 708.02(I)). For petitions to make special based on an inventor’s age, the Applicant must provide evidence, such as the inventor’s statement or a statement from a registered practitioner that evidences the inventor is 65 years of age or older (MPEP § 708.02(II)).

Applicants may petition under 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(c)(2) to expedite prosecution for inventions that materially enhance the quality of the environment, contribute to the development or conservation of energy resources, or contribute to countering terrorism. Applicants filing a petition under 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(c)(2) must provide evidence that their invention qualifies for granting the petition, do a pre-examination search, and provide examination support documents.

Applicants can also seek to expedite their application through the Track One program pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(e). Under the Track One program, expedited examination is available for a fee. There are no additional prerequisites or required support documents. The Track One program has an annual limit on the number of prioritized examination requests that are accepted. Currently, the annual limit is 15,000 prioritized examination requests. However, the USPTO anticipates raising the annual limit to 20,000 in 2025.

The USPTO reports that the number of applications utilizing the Accelerated Examination program has been declining and many petitions were found to have ultimately been denied. The USPTO suggests that the low number of applications utilizing the Accelerated Examination program indicates that the Track One program can accommodate Applicants who require expedited examination and will ultimately reduce administrative overhead and improve overall processing efficiency for utility applications requiring expedited examination. Furthermore, deciding the petitions and monitoring for compliance with the Accelerated Examination program requirements throughout prosecution required diversion of substantial technology center resources that could be applied more efficiently to USPTO’s broader efforts to reduce pendency. Accordingly, the USPTO announced the following changes to the Accelerated Examination program.

On and after July 10, 2025

Starting on July 10, 2025, the Accelerated Examination program for utility patent applications directed to inventions under 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(c)(2) will be discontinued. These applications, however, can still receive expedited examination through the Track One program. Consequently, Applicants of such inventions now only must pay a fee and will no longer be required to do a pre-examination search or file the examination support documents.

The grounds to petition under 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(c)(1) (i.e., age or health) will be retained and will still be available without a fee. However, those grounds will be moved into 37 C.F.R. § 1.102(c). Furthermore, because the terms “inventor” and “applicant” are no longer synonymous under the Leahy-Smith American Invents Act (AIA), the rule will also be amended to clarify that it is the inventor’s or joint inventor’s age or health, not the Applicant’s age or health, that is relevant when filing a petition to make special.

Finally, this final rule will not affect the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program.

The table below provides a summary of the major changes to the expedited examination practice and rules effective July 10, 2025.